BLACK MASS
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS D: Scott Cooper. USA. 122 min. Sep 14, 9 pm Elgin Sep 15, 2:45 pm, Sep 18, 10 pm Princess Of Wales. See listings. Rating: NNN
Black Mass casts Johnny Depp as Boston crime lord James “Whitey” Bulger – and buries him under a prosthetic forehead and coloured contacts. It’s a gimmick the movie doesn’t need he looks like a werewolf in mid-transformation. Worse, Depp and director Cooper are so invested in the idea of Whitey Bulger as a monster that they forget to make him a human being.
Black Mass does a better job of humanizing FBI agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), who considered Bulger a valuable informant – and by protecting him, unwittingly enabled Bulger to take over most of South Boston. Cooper keeps the action moving and ably juggles a large cast – Black Mass may set a new record for the most white guys in slacks since Argo – but he can’t get away from the repetitive nature of the story, or from Depp’s showiness.
It’s not a bad movie, but it feels awfully familiar.
Win tickets to see Black Mass in theatres here!
